


The Light In Her Eyes

by acrazyobsession



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Character Study, Episode: s01e07 Murder in Montparnasse, F/M, Gen, Scars, Whumptober 2019, reference to abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-16 07:10:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21032270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acrazyobsession/pseuds/acrazyobsession
Summary: The war had taken the spark from her eyes, and for a moment life in Paris had brought it back. But René DuBois’ possessive nature had again put out the spark and left her with scars.





	1. René Was Her Past

**Author's Note:**

> I had no beta for this fic and whipped it together in two days, so please excuse any mistakes.
> 
> Whumptober prompt "Scars" - This first chapter can be read all on its own and focuses on Phryne and her history with René. The second chapter will kind of be a bonus that will include her thoughts about Jack and the kiss.

The scars that René DuBois left behind couldn’t be seen on her body. They were hidden away beneath beautiful frocks and alabaster skin. Phryne had spent years healing her heart and she covered them well. So well, in fact, that sometimes even she forgot that they were there. 

Sitting in her parlour after Jack had returned the painting, she finally had a chance to process the whirlwind that had been the last few days. The shock of René’s presence in Melbourne had hit her like a slap to the face, and those carefully healed scars had revealed themselves once more.

She looked down at the treasured painting. To anyone else, it might just have been another nude portrait in her vast collection. But to her, it was a reminder of all she had been throughーwhat she had survived. To René, it had been something he wanted to possessーlike he had possessed her all those years ago.

She rose from her seat with the painting in hand. It needed to go back on her wall.

~ * ~ * ~

Véronique Sarcelle showing up on her doorstep out of the blue, nearly a decade since they had last seen each other, caused those carefully covered scars to flare up. Phryne’s hand settled lightly on her chest as she pushed away the memories and focus on how delighted she was to see her dear friend.

As pieces of the case started coming together, she felt herself drifting off into a distant place. A place she had worked extremely hard to escape. The pain in her chest increased. The possibility that René could be in Melbourne and was responsible for the deaths of the soldiers, tested the strength that she had built up over the years. And Véronique’s warning that he would be looking for her shattered the last of her façade. She was intimately aware of how René handled a hit to his ego, and if her friend indeed was correct about his broken heart, he would come after more than just her painting.

Jack’s idea of catching René at the café made her more anxious than she would have liked to admit. Sitting at the table, back to the wall, heart racing in her chest, she twisted the napkin around her fingers in her lap. The sound of a champagne bottle popping at the table beside them had tears building up in her eyes, and watching Bert and Cec walk into the dining hall was nearly her undoing as the anxiety became too much for her.

This was not who she was. Not anymore. But she seemed incapable of calming her nerves.

Having left Paris and all that trouble behind her, she had managed to avoid facing this particular demon until now. She had thought that after nine years she would have been over it ーgrown past itーbut that obviously was not the case. Jack was doing his best to reassure her that there were plenty of police in the room. That she was safe. But even his joke about the escargot didn’t reach past her emotional panic.

With a gun in her hand, and the man who had inflicted so much pain at the wrong end of it, she realized just how much anger she still felt toward him. Her hands shook as she squeezed the gun and the tears in her eyes threatened to fall. In 1919, that anger had helped her take a stand for herself and had pushed her to become the strong independent woman she was now. Today however, that anger threatened to take over. He had hurt the people she cared about and put others in danger.

~ * ~ * ~

The painting was carefully placed back on the wall of her bedroom. In the end, she couldn’t shoot him. And though her hesitation had given him the chance to run, he hadn’t gotten far. Véronique had gotten her retribution and Phryne had gotten her painting back.

As her fingers gently nudged the frame to straighten it, her thoughts drifted back to her time in Paris. As she had told Dot, it had been exhilarating and she hadn’t had the sense to be scared. But it wasn’t something she regretted. And she didn’t regret her hesitation at the café. She couldn’t have lived with herself if she had let René control her like that again.

~ * ~ * ~

René had found her after the war. The spark of youth in her eyes had been replaced with the grim reality of war and the uncertainty of what came next. Emotionally vulnerable, without money, and in need of a distraction, she fell for his charm, passion, and devoted attention. At first she didn’t realize what was happening. How he had changedーhow she had let him change her. But little by little, all the things she loved about Paris where stripped away as she became more isolated from her friends. The qualities that had drawn her to him had warped into a need to possess and control her.

He had put his hands on her, leaving bruises and hand marks, but the slap across the face had been the awakening she needed. Standing in the alley, blood oozing from her lip, tears streaming down her cheeks, she knew she had to leave.

He might have meant for the slap to put her in her placeーto weaken her. Instead, it had awoken in her a fireーa need to survive. The spark had returned to her eye, and along with it a determination to come back stronger than ever. She had lost her identity and she now had to work to figure out who she wasーwhat she wanted in life. And she didn’t ever want to be under the control of a man again.

~ * ~ * ~

The years had allowed her scars to heal and she had found a way to move on and find joy in a world that was often filled with darkness. She didn’t like to give credit to René when it came to her strength. But in a way his actions toward her had caused her to push herself beyond what she thought possible. She had picked herself up and become a force to be reckoned with. Her close encounter today had shook her and had opened old wounds, but she would be fine. They would heal again.

Phryne squared her shoulders and stepped away from the painting on the wall. She was glad to have it back where it belonged.


	2. Could Jack be her Future?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack came along and instead of blowing out her light, he fanned it and encouraged it. That’s when she knew she was in trouble. But she was always up for a challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and commenting on the first chapter!!
> 
> I don’t know how strictly to canon her thought process is, but since I am calling this a "bonus chapter", I am giving myself a little leeway in that department.

Walking back down to the parlour, Phryne was a little sad that Jack had made such a quick getaway. It had been nice the few times they had shared a drink at the end of a case. She closed her eyes and shook her head. The direction her thoughts had been going lately really needed to stop! And the kiss was not helping. She would normally go out on the town, but that didn’t appealed to her tonight. And she couldn’t deny that that worried her. A drink was definitely in order.

~*~*~

As they sat at the table in the café, her hands refused to stay still and her eyes darted nervously around the room. Jack laid his hands on her trembling fingers and whispered reassuring things to her. But she wasn’t paying attention, and even his voice couldn’t reach her through the sound of her heart beating in her ears and her own ragged breathing. She had worked herself up into quite the panic. And the fact that she hated feeling this way only made it worse. She seemed incapable of calming herself.

Her eyes locked on René. The scars that had been flaring up the last couple of days as she learned what he had done were now ripped opened. She hadn’t seen him in nearly a decade. How did he still have that effect on her? She heard none of Jack’s desperate calls of her name. There was no one in the room except her and René DuBois. 

It wasn’t until she felt her head being turned away from the dining hall entrance that Jack came into view as his lips abruptly landed on hers. It seemed like a slow motion moment and the rest of the room disappeared. Stunned, she didn’t even know how to react. But with his fingers at the nape of her neck and her senses filled with butter, garlic, and Jack’s distinct smell, she was drawn in. Her eyes drifted closed and she kissed him back. It was for a split second. He pulled away ever so slightly, and their eyes caught each other in a glance that was as far from professional as the kiss had been. 

~*~*~

It had been hours since that kiss, but it was still very much on her mind. Her fingers absently moving to her lips as they tingled from the memory. 

He wasn’t anything like René. Jack was…Jack surprised her. And not just today. After their first meeting in Lydia Andrews’ bathroom, she thought she had him pegged as the dour, though handsome in his own way, local police officer. A man with a plan who probably had no sense of humor. Instead, what she discovered was a smart and upstanding gentleman, who occasionally had a very good sense of humor. And the most surprising thingーat least before the kissーwas his love of Shakespeare. Sitting on the stage of the theatre, staring up at him as he recited lines from _Antony and Cleopatra_, she had been in awe. This man had depths she had not anticipated. 

That deep voice had been in her dreams since their last case. She shook her head to push away those thoughts. She had made a pledge to herself that her heart would not come into play where men were concerned, and her current train of thought was on a dangerous path. Because there was something different about Jack. 

René had stomped out the spark with his need to control her; he wanted to possess her not love her. But she had discovered that too late and the damage had been done. So it was sadly ironic that the first time she and Jack shared a kiss it was during a case that involved René DuBois. There had been many men since René, but they were all purely for fun. She wouldn’t place herself in that vulnerable position ever again. She still loved deeply, but it was on her terms and it was never romantic. However, she could feel that Jack Robinson could be trouble.

With her drink in hand, she moved to sit in the window seat. There was a little activity out on the street, but for the most part, things had slowed down. The house was so quiet, which made it hard to get her thoughts to stay away from these two very different men. 

It had been three months since she met Jack. That was longer than she had known Renéーthough they had a much different relationship. With René, she could never do anything right and he would fly off the handle without any notice. She couldn’t say that Jack had never gotten angry at her or lost his temper, but usuallyーlooking back nowーit might have been warranted. She was definitely more reckless than he liked. _Or at least more reckless that he was used to a woman being_. This brought a smile to her face. 

She did thoroughly enjoy working cases with him. And as much as he tried to show his disapproval of her constant appearance at his crime scenes, he seemed to take her ideas and observations seriously. Not that he necessarily needed her opinions, because Jack was admirably good at his job. But he had eventually let her look over case files, ask questions during interviews, and even examine evidence. It seemed he recognized her keen eye. It made her feel wantedーin a very different way than she was accustomed.

He also challenged her. In more ways than one. _Maybe she shouldn’t ponder that for too long_. But it had surprised her that he had responded so differently to her charms than other men. She thought she about had him wrapped around her finger. But even when he did push her away it was hardly ever believableーunless there was a gun involved. Maybe he had realized that it was easier to just allow her access. 

For the past nine years, she had been firm in her idea that in order to stay strong, to be her own person, she had to keep men at arm’s length emotionally. And that had been the right choice for most of the men she had met. Jack wasn’t most men. There was just something about him that was too important to walk away from. Things just seemed more fun with him. Just being in his spaceーin his presenceーwas nice. She felt surprisingly at ease with him, and he with her. She would stick to that and let this little partnership develop. There was nothing wrong with having a friend. 

However, staying close also had its temptations. Especially now that she knew he could kiss like that! But she was determined not to change. Not even for Jack Robinson.


End file.
